Tuesday, December 20, 2011

12/20/2011
Regular readers who assume
that my silence on the subject of Christmas stems from belief — or, more
precisely, the lack of it — are not entirely wrong. But there is
another reason: since I first visited the Philippines in late 1989, I
have rarely been able to suppress a smile (or, should the mood take me, a
grimace) at the wildly inappropriate practice of Christmas songs and
carols, many of which have a snowy theme, being played in shopping malls
in a tropical climate. This is, of course, an example of US commercial
imperialism, just as the practice of Christianity itself arises from
Spanish colonialism.

Has Christmas ever been celebrated without
Christianity? Yes — although it didn’t go by that name. In pagan times,
Northern European peoples celebrated a mid-winter festival. In some
places, this was associated with the god Odin (in Anglo-Saxon this is
“Woden,” from which “Wednesday” is derived). But gods were not — and are
not — a necessary component of such a festival, because one often needs
cheering up during a bleak northern winter, and a festival is as good a
way as any of accomplishing this..... MORE

According
to official sources, Kim Jong-il died on the morning of December 17 of
fatigue and overwork. Reportedly he had been battling heart disease
since allegedly suffering a stroke in 2008..... MORE

The member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
released a strong message warning that European missile defense and
unilateral military action may work to destabilize international
security and strategic stability around the world.

The harsh statement was released by President Dmitry Medvedev and his
counterparts from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan in Moscow on Tuesday.

The leaders made specific
mention of the missile defense system that the United States is
currently constructing in Eastern Europe, just miles from the Russian
border..... MORE

12/20/2011
The times are bad and the
future is dark. The country is stagnant and millions of Filipinos are
suffering from hunger and uncertainty. The local and national problems
are not only multiplying but also worsening. The quest for justice and
peace remains elusive and the imperative of socio-economic development
is far from being seriously attended, much less realistically pursued.
The Philippines nevertheless continuous to have one singular blessing:
The Filipinos who keep the faith, live with hope, believe in love —
especially so during Christmas.

This is the primary reason, notwithstanding all arguments to the
contrary, the Philippines is rather known for having the longest
Christmas Season in the world. This is also why the Filipinos — creative
and ingenious as they are — successfully combine their own native
Christian heritage with many elements of imported Christmas symbols and
practices..... MORE

By ALDWIN QUITASOL with reports from LARA CARTUJANOwww.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — More than 500 anti-mining activists and advocates from
different towns of Northern Luzon expressed unity on programs to save
the environment and resources together in the first Northern Luzon
Mining and Human Rights Summit held from December 13-15 of 2011 at the
Quirino Hall, Teachers’ Camp.

On
the theme “Defend and preserve our national patrimony against foreign
big business plunder! Assert our rights to life, land, culture, food
security and development!”, the three-day summit aimed to study the
relation of mining projects to the human rights situation in Northern
Luzon, vis a vis national and international developments..... MORE

By RODA TAJONwww.nordis.net
CANDON CITY, Ilocos Sur — “Karapatan ng mamamayan, ipaglaban!”
More than 300 human rights advocates in Ilocos repeatedly chanted the
above call as they marched to commemorate International Human Rights
Day last December 11.

The activity was launched despite efforts from Philippine National
Police (PNP) and the city government to frustrate them because of their
“no permit, no rally policy”.

Mila Marcelo, public information officer of the Ilocos Human Rights
Alliance (IHRA), said that the state-sponsored terror in the countryside
and the escalating human rights violations in the Ilocos region has
instead served as a challenge to the people to assert their rights..... MORE

12/20/2011
As the body count rose to 823
late yesterday, authorities expect that the casualties from flash
floods that devastated two port cities in Mindanao spawned by Typhoon
Sendong will continue to pile up in the coming days as officials said
more are missing than reported since entire families were believed swept
to sea as they slept in coastal slums.

Towns in Cagayan de Oro
and Iligan cities which were worst hit by the devastation prepared mass
burials for decomposing bodies with authorities saying unclaimed
cadavers piling up in mortuaries were posing health risks and had to be
buried.

Several television footage showed decomposing bodies lined
up in different centers where the dead were delivered for
identification, underlining the serious tragedy that some of the
survivors compared to the recent tsunami that hit parts of northern
Japan last March. One footage from an Iligan mortuary showed a
corridor lined with bodies wrapped in white plastic bags bound with tan-colored packaging tape..... MORE

First
the Cojuangco-Aquinos of Hacienda Luisita said they would no longer
seek a motion for reconsideration from the Supreme Court ruling that
generally favored the hacienda farmers, but with the focus on the
impeachment trial of SC Chief Justice Renato Corona and the vow of
President Aquino to lobby with the senators to convict the CJ in an
impeachment trial, the Cojuangco clan is pushing not only a recall of
the SC ruling but for the court to declare the stock distribution
option (SDO) valid, and also called for a higher just compensation for
the clan.

In a 45-page motion to
clarify and reconsider, HLI sought among other things, to have the
reckoning point in determining the valuation of the hacienda moved to a
later

date, 2006, from the original SC decision which said
that the just compensation shall be based on the value of the property
in November 1989 when the stock distribution option (SDO) was approved.
The high court in its decision this year had struck down the SDO..... MORE

After
the New People’s Army (NPA) committed at least two major atrocities
following the government’s unilateral suspension of offensive military
operations (Somo), the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)
yesterday reciprocated the government’s 18-day Christmas truce with its
own four-day ceasefire.

In a statement, the CPP-Central Committee
issued a ceasefire order to all commands and units of the NPA nationwide
starting Dec. 24 to Dec. 26 for the Christmas and Dec. 31 to Jan. 2 for
the New Year.

“During the indicated periods, all commands and
units of the NPA and the people’s militia shall cease and desist from
carrying out offensive operations against the armed units and personnel
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police
and paramilitary forces of the Government Republic of the Philippines
(GRP),” the CPP said..... MORE

The
Philippine government yesterday said it is prepared to recognize the
new North Korean leader following the demise of its Kim Jong-Il, as it
called for a “smooth transition to a new leadership.”

In a
statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “The Philippine
government values its relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea and will continue to cooperate with them to intensify the
promotion and maintenance of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific
region, including in the Korean Peninsula , to ensure the region’s
continued prosperity.”

Manila, which has decade-old diplomatic
ties with Pyongyang , likewise offered its condolences to its government
and people on the death of Kim Jong-Il..... MORE

12/20/2011
The Bureau of Customs (BoC)
seized P10.6-milliion worth of firecrackers and fireworks misdeclared as
school supplies that were illegally imported from China, BoC report
said yesterday.

Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said the two 40-footer
container vans of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices were consigned to
FEC Trading which is owned by a certain Francisco Edward Lopez Claudio
of Makati City.

It was learned that the pyrotechnic shipment was lodged at the BoC by FEC Trading’s customs broker Advenzur Ubas..... MORE

12/20/2011
The EcoWaste Coalition
yesterday reported that it has detected sky-high levels of toxic
elements on several beverage and food containers purchased from popular
retail outlets in Metro Manila.